By Barry Warne, head of employment law at hlw Keeble Hawson Employers are urged to check whether their IT policies are illegal following a landmark decision that restricts their ability to monitor employees’ emails and other electronic communications. The European Court of Human Rights agreed that a Romanian man’s right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human rights was breached when he was fired for using an...

There’s been another blow for the gig economy as Addison Lee becomes the latest company to lose an employment tribunal case regarding employment status. As with Uber and Deliveroo, the Addison Lee business model is that their drivers are self employed but branded with the company’s logo (t shirts and bags). The Tribunal Judge strongly disagreed with Addison Lee’s defence that the Claimant, Mr Gascoigne, was an independent...

Luke Green, Employment Partner at Hill Dickinson explains the impact of a new ruling on holiday pay. Regular voluntary overtime must be included in holiday pay Many workers will have just received an unexpected boost to their holiday pay, as a result of a recent ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that regular voluntary overtime must be included in the first four week’s holiday pay (Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v...

Leading employment law specialist, Peninsula, predicts a massive surge in employment tribunal claims following a landmark ruling yesterday by the Supreme Court, with Claimants now having an opportunity to pursue a fee-free claim. Upholding a challenge by Unison, the Supreme Court concluded that employment tribunal fees were discriminatory and ruled that the government was acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally when it introduced the...

The Apprenticeship Levy has the potential to increase social mobility within the legal profession according to specialist recruiter, Clayton Legal. This comes at a time when organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Management are calling on employers to offer higher-level apprenticeships as a route to promoting diversity in their workforces. Since April, all employers in England with a pay bill of over £3 million are required...

After a landmark decision today by the Supreme Court, the Government now faces having to repay more than £27m in tribunal fees after the Supreme Court ruled against that fees were unlawful, and that the Government was acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally when it introduced the fees four years ago. The then Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling, introduced the fees in July 2013, despite widespread opposition from Trade Unions and law...

A new risk analysis paper on GDPR from specialist technology law firm Boyes Turner this week found that promotion by consumer groups of new rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could prove more disruptive to employers than the “TripAdvisor effect”. Post GDPR, control over the future of brands and marketing strategies is likely to shift away from companies and managers towards consumers and employees and according...

Despite the Government announcing a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to maternity discrimination back in February, newly released research has found that it is still a massive problem for UK parents and parents-to-be. The problem is contributing to women feeling unable to take their full maternity leave, with researchers finding: Only 12% of working mothers take a full year’s maternity leave and almost one in five (18%) take...

Leon Deakin, Partner and Charlotte Farrell, Associate Solicitor of Coffin Mew, explain why a recent decision illustrates the need to take care during gross misconduct hearings. Disciplinary hearings for misconduct should consider whether there is enough evidence to uphold the allegations of the misconduct. However, where misconduct is deemed to have occurred, a recent case provides a timely reminder for employers that when...

An employment tribunal has awarded a woman £50,000 compensation after her former employers accused her of not doing ‘a single day’s work’ while she underwent treatment for breast cancer. Eimear Coghlan, 34, was initially treated with “sympathy and concern” by her boss, Poonam Dhawan-Leach, chief executive of The Hideaways Club in Kensington, however their professional relationship struggled when Ms. Coghlan needed to go for regular...

Clare Gilroy-Scott is a Partner in the employment team at Goodman Derrick LLP, the claimant’s legal team in the recent King v The Sash Window Workshop Ltd ECJ case. She explains what recent case law decisions mean for employers in terms of holiday pay. Employment tribunals continue to consider a number of cases concerning the inclusion of overtime, commission and other variable payments in holiday pay, as well as the...

Three key themes – trust, culture and diversity – must be the watchwords for businesses with the onset of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, according to a leading employment lawyer. Greg Chambers, associate director in the employment team at Osborne Clarke, was speaking at a seminar in Bristol entitled “The Future of Work in a Smart City.” The event was hosted by Hays Recruitment, held at the city’s Engine Shed and formed part of...

More than a quarter will pay up to £800 on holiday clubs alone this Summer 41% unaware of legal right to take unpaid parental leave to care for their children 75% have never used unpaid parental leave 61% think unpaid leave should extend to caring for pets as well as children 57% of working parents could be spending up to £1,800 a year unnecessarily on childcare cover after research found that a staggering 41% are unaware of their...

The Court of Appeal has for the first time considered the new ‘public interest’ element of the whistleblowing law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA). Public Concern at Work intervened in Chesterton Global Ltd vs Nurmohamed held at the Royal Courts of Justice last week. In a judgment that is good news for whistleblowers, the Court of Appeal has found in favour of the individual making the disclosure, providing a wide...